


The Ugly Duckling's Big Night

by afteriwake



Series: The Summer Of 100 Surprise Stories - Summer 2018 [25]
Category: Sherlock (TV)
Genre: Awkwardness, Ballet, Dress Up, Dresses, Embarrassed Mycroft Holmes, F/M, First Dates, Gifts for Molly Hooper, Guessing, Happy Ending, Locker Room, Molly Hooper & Meena Friendship, Mycroft Being Mycroft, Mycroft Feels, Mycroft Holmes Has Feelings, POV Molly Hooper, Pleased Molly, Romantic Fluff, Secret Admirer, Surprises, Wary Molly Hooper
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-12
Updated: 2018-06-12
Packaged: 2019-05-21 05:54:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14909624
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/afteriwake/pseuds/afteriwake
Summary: Molly gets a surprise in the locker room, a gorgeous dress with nothing more than a note attached, but she thinks the worst, considering the life she's led as of late. But when Mycroft Holmes is standing on her doorstep at the appointed time in the note, suddenly it all makes sense...and she decides to have a night as the beautiful swan and not the ugly duckling.





	The Ugly Duckling's Big Night

**Author's Note:**

> I used two prompts for this story, the first being " _Molly loves the ballet but never gets the opportunity to go, and when she does she feels silly going by herself. She's surprised to find a ticket and a gorgeous outfit waiting for her at Barts one day for a performance of Swan Lake, and even more surprised to find Mycroft waiting to see it with her that evening._ " (which I tweaked slightly) and the second being " _philocalist (n: a lover of beauty; someone who finds and appreciates beauty in all things)_ "

Meena came down from the cardiovascular suite, her eyes bright. Molly hadn’t seen her friend look like this since the aftermath of her first date with the man she ended up marrying. “Aren’t you worried someone will steal such a gorgeous dress?” she asked, leaning against the door to Molly’s office.

Molly frowned. “Steal what dress?” she asked.

“The one hanging up in the locker room with your name on it. Not that you can see much in the garment bag but I took a little peek and it’s lovely. The sort of thing you wear to a charity event, you know?” She tilted her head. “Who’s the lucky bloke?”

“Meena, I have no earthly idea what you’re talking about,” Molly said as her frown got deeper and her brows furrowed. “What dress? What note?”

“If it’s still there, I’ll show you,” Meena said, coming into Molly’s office and pulling her up from her chair, and then nearly dragging her to the lift. Meena pushed the button to go up and it dinged immediately, opening for both of them. Meena took her up to the second-floor locker room, excitedly pulling her and nearly pulling her arm off, and then presenting the black garment bag on the coat rack with a flourish. “See? ‘Dr. Margaret Hooper.’ It’s yours.”

“I wasn’t expecting a dress,” she said with a frown. There was a pink dress in the bag, she found once she unzipped it, that had to go to at least her knees. It had a high neckline and no sleeves and flared out at the bottom. There was embroidery all over the skirt and bodice in the same shade as the dress, with flowers and leaves. After a moment she saw it even had pockets. “This is...this is gorgeous.”

“Wear your hair up in a twist,” Meena said. “And nude heels, definitely.”

“But why?” she asked.

“Well, look at the note, you git,” Meena teased. 

Molly turned to the envelope pinned to the garment bag and opened it carefully, pulling out a note. “Be at your residence by six sharp, ready for a night at the ballet. Swan Lake is being performed by one of the premier Russian ballet troupes in the world,” she read out loud.

“Oooh, a mystery date!” Meena said, her eyes getting even brighter. “Any idea who the lucky man is?”

“None,” Molly said, pursing her lips together. “I mean, Sherlock would do something this extravagant to get on my good side, but I doubt he’d sit through a ballet. But he wouldn’t have me go by myself, either, and this sounds like a date.”

“Maybe one of those policemen who is always flitting in and out of your domain?” she asked.

“I doubt Dimmock would, but maybe Greg. I mean, Sally knows my ideal dress styles, and this is very much it. But it seems a bit out of Greg’s range. You know what I mean?”

“I do,” Meena said. Then her eyes dimmed. “You don’t think it could be dangerous, do you? I mean, there was that one guy.”

Molly gave a slight revulsion at the mere mention of Jim. “Maybe it’s best if I don’t go tonight.”

“Maybe,” Meena agreed. “But take the dress. If it’s a trap, that’s very expensive bait.”

“I suppose I can find something to wear it to,” Molly said, fingering the embroidery. A date to the ballet would be lovely, but Meena was right. It could be a trap. Better not to risk it.

–

She was at home in a pair of fuzzy pyjama bottoms patterned with kitty paw prints and a white cami vest when her doorbell rang just as she was about to dig into her pint of ice cream. The dress was hanging in her closet and she’d hoped whoever had sent it for whatever reason had forgotten about it.

Not her lucky day, she supposed.

She made her way to the door, ice cream in hand, and saw Mycroft Holmes standing there, a frown on his face. “The dress...” he murmured.

“Oh, _you_ sent it?” she asked, her eyes wide. Why hadn’t she considered Mycroft? She hardly knew him, but she knew he was moneyed, and cultured, and...”I’m so sorry. I thought, and my friend thought, it might have been part of an elaborate trap.”

“No, I’m afraid it was simply my thought you would like to join a fellow ballet enthusiast for an evening out. I suppose I thought wrongly.”

“No, it’s not that at all. I’d love to, Mycroft, really. I just...it was so pretty and no one ever gets me pretty things, and why didn’t you sign the note? I’d be dressed and ready if I had known it was you who went to all that trouble.”

“I was told a secret admirer would be preferred.”

“In our lives? No, not the best idea.” She handed him the pint and spoon and then nodded inside. “I can’t go all out if we’re on a timetable, but give me a bit and I’ll try and not look like my usual ugly duckling self.”

“You are very much a swan in my eyes, Dr. Hooper,” he said softly.

She smiled even more widely than she had thought possible and leaned in, surprising him by kissing his cheek. “Well, then I’ll make it a point to look as lovely as I can. Are we in a hurry?”

“You might want to skip the shower,” Mycroft said, turning red at the apples of his cheek.

“Will do. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back as quickly as I can.” Mycroft stepped inside before looking at the ice cream and then looking back up while she shut the door behind him. She damn near floated to her bedroom. Not the man he had expected, but a welcome surprise nonetheless. She had the feeling tonight was going to be an amazing night after all for her, and Mycroft, too.


End file.
